I just purchased a 240mm Takeda Gyuto and it came with an odd depression in the blade. It is about an inch and quarter long and a quarter inch wide. It is not very deep but I can feel it when I rub my fingers across it. On the opposite side of the blade I cannot feel anything but can see a vague outline of the depression in the kurouchi finish. Also, in the same general area on the spine, there is a small dent as you can see in the photo. Also, the side of the blade with the depression is slightly concave as I can see when I put it on my cutting board or lay a straight edge across it from spine to edge - the spine side and bevel side contact the straight edge but there is a small (1mm or so) gap in the center.

I have never seen something like this before and wonder what could have caused the odd depression! Are these things a big deal or just inconsequential cosmetic blemishes to expect with Takeda? If only a purely cosmetic issue, I would rather not go through the hassle of sending it back for an exchange. The slight blade concavity is what concerns me the most.

My Takeda has forged hollows as well, AFAIK that's how he makes them. It gives thinness behind the edge whilst the thicker spine reduces flex. The extra blade height on Takeda's means that it doesn't cause any wedging issues for me.

ecchef

02-11-2012, 07:16 PM

+1 and mine's relatively old. Never bothered me or affected performance.
The dent on the spine doesn't look too cool though. Rounding the spine could help with that.

Peco

02-11-2012, 07:16 PM

Nice indeed :D

Johnny.B.Good

02-11-2012, 07:20 PM

What about the "dent" in the spine? Just a little extra character? No problem?

Oh, and welcome to the forum Edgey. :)

WillC

02-11-2012, 07:24 PM

They are a very precise piece of forge work. T.B has kindly lent me his to get to grips with and I love it. I'll send it back soon.... I promise :razz: I would say when you can forge gradual hollows across the width of a deep gyuto, most probably on an aging mechanical power hammer, by eye and to a fraction of 1mm tolerances. (The evenness of the width of the bevel is testament to the forging accuracy), you are allowed a few stray blows as as given. Blacksmiths call it character.:D
The spine one was a bit of a whoopsie though, it runs the wrong way to hollowing blows, he must have caught a glancing blow taking it out of the tooling. But with a little understanding on how these must be forged, it wouldn't bother me, they are about the performance not the look I think.

Johnny.B.Good

02-11-2012, 07:29 PM

Does Takeda not ease the spines on his knives? Looks a little sharp...

Regardless, I'd still like to have one. :)

Edgey

02-11-2012, 07:47 PM

Johhny B - thanks for the welcome!

This all great to know - I really like this Takeda and the extra character makes it all the better! I will definitely do some work rounding the spine.

Should I attempt to remedy the slight concavity in the belly or is it not something to not really worry about?

Edgey

02-11-2012, 07:55 PM

And if it is not clear what I mean by concavity, I mean that on the side of the hollow the belly has a slight curve from spine, down and back up to edge. It is hardly noticeable unless I put the straight edge across the belly or lay the knife flat on my cutting board and then i see the crosswise gap. My concern is that this will affect my sharpening angle somehow? Probably not enough to stress out about, I imagine!

JohnnyChance

02-12-2012, 04:09 AM

And if it is not clear what I mean by concavity, I mean that on the side of the hollow the belly has a slight curve from spine, down and back up to edge. It is hardly noticeable unless I put the straight edge across the belly or lay the knife flat on my cutting board and then i see the crosswise gap. My concern is that this will affect my sharpening angle somehow? Probably not enough to stress out about, I imagine!

Don't worry, it is supposed to be that way. It won't affect sharpening either.

NO ChoP!

02-12-2012, 12:57 PM

I've handled three Takedas and none were perfect/ all had their own "character".....

I think that's part of the mystique.

The spine on mine, although not a big divet, is rather wavy on one side...doesn't affect performance at all.

Cadillac J

02-12-2012, 03:30 PM

Does Takeda not ease the spines on his knives? Looks a little sharp...

I've had 2 Takeda...the kiritsuke had the roundest spine I've ever had on a stock knife, while the gyuto was much more squared off (although not sharp)

TB_London

02-12-2012, 06:56 PM

They are a very precise piece of forge work. T.B has kindly lent me his to get to grips with and I love it. I'll send it back soon.... I promise :razz:

Haha, going to Boston for 10 days tomorrow so you can hang on to it for a bit longer...... How do you find it on the stones?

Edgey

02-12-2012, 08:35 PM

Well - I consider myself schooled.

Thanks everyone (especially Johnny B) for clearing things up for me! This means that I can go ahead and start working with my new knife! I really love the weight and balance of it.

EdipisReks

02-12-2012, 08:38 PM

Takedas are weird. love it. i love mine (i didn't love the first one, but for completely different reasons than what this thread is about).

tk59

02-12-2012, 09:09 PM

...The spine one was a bit of a whoopsie though...Yup. It shouldn't affect performance but it is certainly not cool. It's like you made a dish just how you want it and then spilt a bit of extra pepper on it or something, lol.

EdipisReks

02-12-2012, 09:27 PM

more like got the pizza just as spicy as you wanted, and then accidentally it it with a couple spurts of pepper spray. ;)

Phip

02-13-2012, 10:12 PM

Just checked my 3-year-old Takeda 240mm and it has "dents" too, just not as pronounced as the OP's. The spine, though, I had to relieve myself because it was quite sharp. But something about that knife keeps me coming back to it again and again when I have other splendid knives to choose from. There's just something special about the way it handles.